Holidays and leave

The purpose of bereavement leave is to ensure that racing staff who suffer bereavement in their family are able to attend the funeral and deal with family and legal matters without the additional hardship of losing money.

Racing staff shall be granted up to a maximum of five working days absence payable at the relevant consolidated wage in the event of the death of a spouse, civil partner, child, brother, sister or parent or other relation for whom they provide care at the discretion of the employer.

Employed parents and adults with parental responsibility who lose a child under 18 or have a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy have a right to two weeks statutory bereavement leave. Details from NTF and NARS.

In other cases, if the 5 days is insufficient or a serious family event has occurred which has resulted in bereavement, the employer may at their discretion negotiate a period of unpaid leave to enable the outstanding personal matter to be dealt with.

Returning after midnight

Racing staff returning from racing after midnight shall not be required to start work until 9.30 am; if staff are asked to start before 9.30 am, it is agreed that they will be paid at the rate of time and one half for each hour worked before that time. Where an employee returning from racing after midnight elects not to start work before 9.30, paid time will begin from when the employee begins to work not the normal start time and any adjustment to pay for unworked time before 9.30 must be made at the employee’s normal hourly rate, not the £11.44 rate for time worked away from the yard or at time and a half.

Staff who go racing to a Saturday evening fixture when they would not otherwise have been working that Saturday afternoon, are entitled to receive a paid weekday evening off in lieu, the weekday evening to be mutually agreed between the parties.

The holiday year will be either 1st January to 31st December or 1st July to 30th June. The trainer will determine which is the most appropriate for each yard. Each year will stand on its own and cannot be carried over (see clause 14.6).

Racing staff are entitled to:

• First year of employment: 30 days holiday per annum inclusive of 8 public holidays
• Once an employee has served a continuous period of twelve months with the current employer, then during the next holiday year the entitlement increases to: 32 days holiday per annum inclusive of 8 public holidays
• Once an employee has served a continuous period of five years with the current employer, then during the next holiday year the entitlement increases to: 34 days holiday per annum inclusive of 8 public holidays

Part time workers

(14.1) Part-timers holiday entitlement will be the same as full time workers on a pro rata basis and paid at their usual rate (part-timers are defined as persons who work less than 40 hours per week).

Part time workers holiday entitlement increases in line with length of service as for full time workers.

Arrangements for taking holidays and holidays at termination

(14.2) Holidays will be taken at times to be mutually agreed and will have regard to what is practice in the local circumstances.

(14.3) Employees who have been given notice, or who have given notice, can be required to take their holiday entitlement during the period of notice and this will be effective even where the employer is unable to give the employee statutory notice of the requirement to take holiday. In the case where racing staff have holiday entitlement which exceeds the period of notice, they will be paid for the balance of their entitlement.

On termination of employment, racing staff should be paid for any holiday accrued in the

current holiday year to the date of termination and not taken. Any part of the annual holiday entitlement that has already been taken at the point of termination of service shall be deducted when calculating the holiday pay entitlement as referred to in 14.1.

Holiday accrual and calculations

(14.4) There is a holiday calculator on the NTF website which may be of assistance for calculating the holiday of part time workers.

To calculate holiday for an employee leaving part way through a holiday year, there are three steps:

1. Calculate the full annual leave entitlement
2. Work out the proportion of the leave year in employment
3. Pro-rate based on the proportion of the year in employment

Example — 30 days holiday per annum

Holiday year 1st January to 31st December
Employee started work 1st March and is leaving on 25th August

1. Step 1 Employee in first year of employment entitled to 30 days holiday
2. Step 2 Proportion of leave year in employment – between 1st March and 25th August there are 178 days
   178 days employed out of 365 days in leave year
   178/365 x 100 = 48.767% of leave year
   Employee is employed for 48.767 of the leave year
3. Step 3 Pro-rate leave based on proportion of leave year
   30 days holiday / 100 x 48.767 = 14.63 days holiday

Bank Holidays

(14.5) Bank and public holidays are included in the holiday entitlement set out at paragraph 14.

Where an employee works on a public holiday an alternative day will be taken to be mutually agreed or if an alternative day is not taken an additional day’s pay will be paid up to a maximum of 2 days (pro-rated for part timers and in respect of incomplete holiday years in the first year of employment).

Carry over – Sickness absence and maternity/adoption leave periods

(14.6) In certain circumstances where it is not possible for an employee to take their holiday entitlement during the current holiday year due to sickness absence, the entitlement to the holiday which can be carried over will be reviewed at the time in the light of the current legislation at the relevant time.

(14.7) Contractual and statutory annual leave will accrue during maternity/paternity and adoption leave periods and will carry over where it cannot be taken in the current holiday due to the employee being on maternity/paternity or adoption leave.

Staff who are travelling on a Sunday to race on a weekday, when they would not otherwise have been working that Sunday, are entitled to receive a paid day off in lieu, the day off to be mutually agreed between the parties.

Staff who go racing on a Sunday or who are racing abroad on a Sunday when they would not otherwise have been working that Sunday, are entitled to a paid alternative day off at the relevant rate. The arrangement of this day off will be at the discretion of the trainer in consultation with the racing staff so that the day is taken within a rolling reference period of twelve months, however staff who are contracted on a one in two weekend system and go racing on their Sunday off, must be given their paid lieu day within the next 7 days.